Change of Plans
by I'mNotJoking-I'mSirius
Summary: What if Dumbledore was persuaded to keep young Harry in the wizarding world? He grows up with the Weasleys, discovers more about the Wizarding World, and falls in love.
1. Prologue

November 1st 1981

"_I've come to bring Harry to his Aunt and Uncles. They're the only family he has left now."_

"_You don't mean- you _can't _mean the people who live _here_?" cried Professor McGonagall, jumping to her feet and pointing at number 4. "Dumbledore- you can't. I've been watching them all day. You couldn't find two people who are less like us. And they've got this son- I saw him kicking his mother all the way up the street, screaming for sweets. Harry Potter, come and live here!"_

"_It's the best place for him," Dumbledore said uncomfortably, _(A/N: originally, it said firmly, but to work with this story, uncomfortably fits better)_ "His aunt and uncle will be able to explain everything to him when he's older. I've written them a letter."_

"Surely there is another family, one who would not shower Harry with the information before it is necessary?" McGonagall replied, half desperate.

"Professor McGonagall, I assure you, as much as any family is willing to take in dear Harry, they will not cover the rumours flying about him in this world. Famous for something he will likely never remember, before he can walk and talk, Minerva? Not the life of a young boy." Dumbledore retaliated with a slight hint of defeat in his tone. "But if there was any chance to keep him within observing distance, I would grab at it and not look back with hindsight and choose another path for him."

"One family Dumbledore, many kids, all red heads, not too rich, purebloods. I think they would be perfect for Harry; they would not smother him with affection because they would look after their kids all the same. Harry would have enough money to spare them so they don't have to live so poorly, and he would be within contact and in our world. He would be one of them! Much better off if he was in our world Albus, surely you could reconsider?" McGonagall said sternly.

"Of which family do you speak, Minerva?" Dumbledore sighed.

"The Weasleys, Albus,"

Later that evening, once Hagrid had arrived carrying the bundle of blankets that held the little famous Harry Potter, Dumbledore and McGonagall apparated to the outskirts of Ottery St Catchpole; the home of the Weasleys.

"Surely we could have apparated to the front door step?" McGonagall puffed as they travelled up a steep hill to a block of land surrounded by hedges.

"That would be considered rude, Minerva. Besides, we need to give the family a little warning." Dumbledore was not puffing, something that should have been seen as odd; he is old after all.

Once they reached the top of the hill, a plump woman with bright red flaming hair was rushing towards them. A suspicious look clouded her face and she was wearing a nightgown of a deep purple that contrasted her hair.

"Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall! To what do I owe the pleasure to for this unexpected visit on this fateful night?" Mrs Weasley looked abashed that the Headmaster and Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry would appear at her doorstep on the evening of such a horrible event.

"We come bearing some news, good… and bad, and ask for a favour," Dumbledore smiled a small but pleasant smile at Mrs Weasley as she invited them inside the barrier.

"You have heard the rumours, Mrs Weasley?" Professor McGonagall asked

"Please, call me Molly. Yes, poor James and Lily, and what of their son?"

They had reached the lounge room, a dim light in the corner beside a couch, a nice peach colour coated the walls and an odd looking clock, with no numbers, hung beside a rickety staircase.

Dumbledore went into detail of the evening and how he had come to ask a favour.

"Please, Molly, we would not have come if we had any other choice. I mean, can you see the little boy growing up with muggles of the worst sort?" McGonagall told Mrs Weasley.

"Now Minerva, I'm sure they would have raised Harry appropriately. But as I said earlier, any opportunity to keep him in this world and we should take it. That is why I am here dear Molly; Harry has muggle relatives that Minerva says are horrible, we would ask you a huge favour to take him in. Care for him as one of your own, provide him with necessities. He has a fortune in Gringotts that can provide for his needs, feel free to take whatever is deemed necessary for him or for your family. I know you have a two month old girl, congratulations by the way, but Harry needs a loving family and we know that you could provide it. Feel free to decline," They sat in silence for a few moments, and a disturbance at the door disrupted it. A thick set man, with the same flaming red hair strolled into the room and greeted Molly.

"Evening dear, what company do we have this evening?" He looked inquiringly at the two sitting on the lounge and not a moment's hesitation went by before he recognised them.

"Ah… Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall," it was more of a statement than a question.

"Good evening Mr Weasley, good night at work?" Dumbledore started a conversation with Mr Weasley about the Ministry of Magic before McGonagall gave a loud cough.

The situation was then explained in detail to Mr Weasley for the next hour or so; with the interruption of the newborn. At the end of the discussion, Mr and Mrs Weasley decided they would care for Harry. I mean, who wouldn't take the opportunity to look after a famous person?

So another half hour was spent talking of details; money, necessities and living arrangements. It was after a while that Minerva noticed the sky outside was lightening, daylight was on the horizon.

"Dumbledore, we better get going, people will want confirmation of last night's events and Hogwarts needs us."

"Of course, Minerva. Thankyou dearly Molly, Arthur, for everything; If you don't mind I would like to keep contact with Harry, just a stop in every once in a while."

"That would be lovely Professor, thankyou ever so much. I'm positive Harry will get along fine here,"

As Molly showed out Dumbledore and McGonagall, Mr Weasley conjured up a crib for little Harry and moved it to the corner of the living room; he can move in with Ron tomorrow.

**A/N: okay, new idea... i plan on Harry growing up with the Weasleys all the way through Hogwarts aswell... and they wont be so poor... some characters might be OOC, sorry if they are...**

**Anyway, leave a review... its only five seconds of your time and the first chapter will be up soon (:**

**thankyouuu**


	2. 4 years later

**A/n is at the bottom :) please read!**

**Disclaimer:** JK Rowling owns the dear characters, i just love playing with their personalities and lives :)

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Little Harry had grown into a little boy with a mop of black hair, bright green almond-shaped eyes and a loving family. His brothers, Fred, George, Bill, Charlie, Percy and Ron were all very different; each had a separate personality, except for the twins of course, and Harry loved them dearly. He had a best friend already, his supposed sister, Ginny. They never really had the brother-sister relationship, and it was obvious to everyone. Harry never teased her, unless it was something she would laugh at too; He would play with her, eat with her and she would follow him everywhere. Together, they annoyed Ron to no end, sometimes got back at Fred and George and would ask Percy questions about anything to see if he really _did_ know everything like he said.

Ron felt very out of place, and Mr Weasley noted that it was mostly due to jealousy. Occasionally he would be found sitting and staring into space, or watching everything that Harry and Ginny did. Sometimes they would invite Ron to join, but that was only when the game required more than two players. Mr and Mrs Weasley chose to leave it alone for a little while to see what they would do about it.

Fred and George had gotten into more mischief, and played out their inventive pranks on Ron and Percy. Sometimes Harry and Ginny would be confronted with something of Fred and George's only to laugh and pretend not to care; most of the time they got back at the twins, and the pranks always got better.

Percy was becoming isolated from the family; staying in his room more often than usual, trying to lecture the others on their actions, and getting highly irritated at Fred and George. Mrs Weasley thinks its all due to a low self esteem as he had just gotten a pair of square rimmed glasses and freckles were sprouting over his face.

Charlie and Bill had just left for Hogwarts, after a chase down the station to catch Charlie's tattered but new rat, scabbers. Bill was in his fourth year at Hogwarts, and doing extremely well in arithmancy, while Charlie was studying his second year.

Mrs Weasley had to borrow some of Harry's money so she could get Bill some second hand robes that weren't too damaged. She didn't like using Harry's money; she always gave him an extra serving of dessert whenever she had to. She had decided Harry wasn't to be drowned in second-hand stuff, so she used his money to get him not the best of everything, but things worth more than what she could provide her family. She knew this upset the others, but they never spoke about it. Money was a big issue in the Weasley household.

Late in the morning of 1st November 1985, Harry and Ginny were playing a game of exploding snap (child version where the cards slide away rather than explode) while Ron sat in the closest armchair watching his sister giggle every time the cards would slip away and how Harry would smile and laugh along with her.

Upstairs, Fred and George were uncommonly quiet, with random squeals of laughter or some strange imitation that could be heard in the lounge room. At about 11:26am, a ball of red, blue and black came tumbling down the stairs, followed closely by its twin. Yells of fright and laughter was heard as the boys pushed one another downstairs. Mrs Weasley poked her head out of the kitchen doorway while Harry, Ron and Ginny looked up, puzzled at the noise.

"Outta the way fellow siblings!" Fred called out as he raced past the littler kids.

"We wish to reach the far mysterious beyond and away! To the Garden!" George marched out of the room, head held high and arm poised out in front of him as he headed towards the garden; Mrs Weasley had told the boys to de-gnome it.

"It's full of evil gernumblis and they must be fought off!" Fred complied with George's act as they reached the backyard. Through the kitchen window, shouts of "Get Back!" and "Be Gone, foul scavengers!" were heard.

For a few moments, Harry, Ron, Ginny and Mrs Weasley all looked at each other with puzzled expressions. Percy came wandering down the stairs with a scowl plastered above his bright blue eyes and asked his mother what all the commotion was about; _he_ was trying to study.

"Fred! George! Quit playing and de-gnome that garden! We have visitors coming soon and so help me god if it isn't done! Sorry Percy dear, they won't be any more trouble." A sad smile crossed her face as she watched him grab a glass of orange juice and head up the stairs to his room.

Once Mrs Weasley had gotten over the boys imagination, she got Harry, Ginny and Ron to go upstairs and change into some 'meeting-friends' clothes. She got Harry into his jeans and a nice button up shirt, Ginny into a little yellow sundress with white sandals that she protested for ten minutes about wearing, and Ron into similar clothing to Harry's.

"Why are we getting dressed up mommy?" Ginny looked at her mother quizzically.

"Its time for Professor Dumbledore's visit to Harry, dear," Mrs Weasley informed them. "Now Harry, you must be nice, listen to what the Professor has to say, don't be afraid to ask questions and when you're done we'll see about a treat, how does that sound?" Mrs Weasley got Harry's attention and he seemed excited. A look at Ron would prove the jealousy theory; he was pouting and if he weren't so young, one would see the look he was giving Harry as a cold and unnerving glare.

"Why does Harry get a treat mommy?" Ron spoke with a soft and hurt tone looking at his mother with an attempt at puppy-dog eyes.

"Ron dear, you can have one too if you are on your best behaviour." She smiled at her littlest boy as the thought of her and Mr Weasley's conversation about him being jealous crossed her mind.

"Okay, now Ginny I need you to go to Percy and let him know that Professor Dumbledore is coming, he can choose where to stay, and then you can go to your room and put away your dolls. Ron, could you go tell Fred and George to finish the garden and come inside to clean their room? Then I need you to help me in the lounge room." Mrs Weasley led Harry downstairs after Ron and Ginny had left while telling him the same thing as before.

As soon as they reached the lounge room, a loud wail came from the backyard; Fred had changed Ron's clothes so that he was wearing a clown suit. He came running inside while yelling as loud as possible. Mrs Weasley headed out to the garden to scream at the twins.

"That's it! You've gone too far this time boys! Your father will hear about this and don't even _try_ that look with me mister!" She grabbed them by the ears and led them inside, letting go at the staircase.

"You get into that room and clean it up! I expect it spotless when your father gets home, he'll be talking to you later." They trudged upstairs glaring at each other, trying to clear the blame from themselves.

"Ron! Come here, give mummy a hug" Ron protruded from the laundry and ran to his mothers embrace. She had changed his clothes as soon as she saw him and now his freckled cheeks were tear stained and his eyes bloodshot. He kept wiping his runny nose on his clean shirt while sniffling.

About five minutes, and a promise for a treat, later Ron was up and about following Harry and Ginny once again as they played a quick game of hide and seek. While they were running around outside, a loud crack sounded from the other side of the hedge and Mrs Weasley knew the Headmaster was here; she called the kids inside and went out to greet Professor Dumbledore.

"Ahh, Professor. Good to see you again, keeping well?"

"Yes, Molly. How are you and Arthur, and of course the children?" Dumbledore asked inquiringly

"We are well, thank you for asking. Please come in, Harry is inside" Mrs. Weasley led the professor inside to the lounge room where Harry and Ginny had resumed their game of exploding snap, and Ron was sitting by himself on the lounge looking startled at the newcomer.

"Ron, this is Professor Dumbledore. Harry, Ginny, say hello to the professor." She smiled at the children as they recognized the 'be-nice' look.

"Hello Professor" The children glanced at the teacher and went back to what they were doing.

"Now, Harry, you need to go with the professor to have a talk. Can you follow him to the kitchen please?" Harry nodded at Mrs. Weasley and followed Professor Dumbledore into the kitchen with a curious look on his face. The first words out of his mouth were;

"How old are you, sir?" A mild curious expression flooded Harry's face as he watched the professor.

"Well Harry, how old do you think I am?" the light was playing with Dumbledore's eyes as they sparkled with amusement.

"Uh…" Harry stood, dumbfounded as he sized up the professor. "100?" he asked excitedly.

"Close enough" he replied with a small chuckle. "Now, take a seat and you can start asking questions" Dumbledore patted the seat beside him, and Harry sat down.

"Did you know my parents, sir?" Harry's smile had dissipated and a slight frown came over his green eyes.

A pause filled the room as Harry watched Dumbledore think over his answer.

"Yes, Harry. I did. They were very nice people; your mother had exactly the same eyes as you and your father had the same hair. They went to my school, the one you will be attending, and had many friends. Once they left Hogwarts, they married and moved to a little village called Godric's Hollow. There they started your family."

Harry sat in awe of the ancient man in front of him as he took in the details of his parents. Another question formed in his mind and before a moment passed it blurted out of his mouth.

"Why did they leave me, sir?"

"Well...once they left school and moved, a mean wizard, someone just like you or me-."

"I'm not a mean wizard, sir" Harry interrupted looking astonished at what Dumbledore was saying.

"No, that's not what i meant Harry, i meant he was just like any other person only he became mean. Anyway, he was at my school a long time before your parents were there and after he left, he disappeared for a few years."

"What did this man do to my parents, sir?"

"Let me finish, Harry" Dumbledore scolded his impatience but a slight chuckle escaped too. "So, after this man left Hogwarts, he was gone. Some people said he travelled, some said he was in hiding."

"What did you think, sir?"

"I thought he was biding his time"

"What does that mean, sir?"

"It means he was waiting"

"For what?"

"I had my guesses Harry, but it turned out they were close enough. He had been collecting people; followers if i may say."

"Collecting people? IS that like how Fred and George were putting spiders all together?"

Dumbledore chuckled at Harry's expression; like he had just given away a secret. "I won't say anything Harry, promise. But yes, sort of like that, except what he did with these people wasn't good for anyone. He had made them bad people too."

"How many were there, sir?"

"Let's just say it became too many. And all of these bad people did what the mean man said to do. They hurt people, Harry. Do you understand? It's definitely bad to hurt people."

Over Harry's emerald eyes, a frown formed while he thought about all Dumbledore had told him.

"Yes, sir. But what does this have to do with my parents?" Harry's confusion was etched across his features as he looked at Dumbledore once again.

"Well, all I'm going to say today Harry, is that your parents were not very good friends with the mean man. In some cases this would be a good thing, but for now, before we can continue, you must grow little more and understand more. We can finish our chat another time, as for now, i have to get back to my school after a word with Mrs Weasley." He had to tell harry they could continue because a look of protest was about to show itself. Now curiosity was clear in his eyes.

"Dumbledore! Finished already? What can i do for you?" Mrs Weasley came bustling into the kitchen after seeing Dumbledore in the doorway. She ushered Harry out of the room after Dumbledore asked for some of her time.

____________________________________________________________________

Ginny was sitting in her room, watching the gobstones she had received as a present from her Great Aunt Muriel change colour. She had intended for them to become purple, but by accident they changed to a different colour every time they bumped into something different. She did prefer them like this anyway.

After trudging up the stairs, Harry waited at Ginny's door and watched her playing with the gobstones. He liked the way she smiled every time they changed colour. It made him happy too. Once his breath was back, he moved into the room and sat down beside her. Ginny looked up startled, until she saw who it was, and smiled. They had a chat about the professor, and soon reached the conversation about Hogwarts. They had both seen Bill, and Charlie, leave on the train but they were still upset that they had to wait so long. Sometimes they would pretend each had a wand and ran around either outside or in Ginny's room saying made up spells.

Meanwhile, Ron had been laying on his bed hugging his favourite bear, Mr Biggles. He was traumatised about the clothes incident and after he got his treat, he hid himself in his room. For a while, he thought about nothing, until he got to the professor._ Why did the professor want to see Harry? Why didn't he come to see me? or Ginny? Just because Harry is famous, doesn't mean he should get all the attention, does it?  
_

Ron sighed and rolled over, looking at the ceiling, he thought about what it would be like to be famous. He had wondered if Harry would become his best friend, until he started hanging out with Ginny. _Why hang out with a girl? Like Fred and George were saying she has a disease. Something called Cooties. I wouldn't go near her at all.  
_

The scowl that had formed itself onto his forehead dissipated as he heard a noise in the corridor. He wasn't sure what or who it was and so held his breath for the next noise. Not a moment later, his door swung open and there was no one standing there. Ron found out it was Fred because he could hear them stifling their laughter as they tried to escape back to their room.

Ron was unsure what to make of this, and so hopped off his bed cautiously and headed towards Ginny's room. As he reached the doorway, he looked both ways for Fred and George and making sure the coast was clear traipsed down the hall.

When he got to Ginny's room he saw them sitting together on the floor watching the gobstones. They pushed them towards each other just to see the change in colour. This made both of them smile, laugh and try it all over again. When Harry saw Ron in the doorway, he asked if he wanted to come play. Ron nodded his head a little bit too eagerly and entered the room.

For the next few hours, The Burrow remained peaceful, with the odd squeal from Ginny's room. Professor Dumbledore had left a bit after lunch and Mrs Weasley was cleaning up the kitchen and preparing dinner. She was waiting for Mr Weasley to arrive home so that she wouldn't have to deal with the twins when they came down. Her only hope was that their father wouldn't side with them, as he usually did until he got a firm whacking on the head.

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A/N- okay, i know i know... its been ages since i said it would be up in a week *sheepish look* and im very sorry. but this chapter was a killer to write. not only was there a bad case of writers block, i wrote about 3 versions of it, plus 4 other ideas for it... but none of them were working properly.... so i am very sorry and i hope this chapter is up to standards for you :)

__________________________plus i have some questions for everyone :)__________________________  
_

1. Should this story follow the plot line of the original books? like include the philosophers stone, chamber of secrets etc? or should i make my own?

2. Should Sirius be freed before Harry's 3rd year? i have the plot worked out but i just need to clear up some details

3. What should Harry be calling Mrs Weasley? Mum, aunt Molly, Mrs Weasley?? i was just a bit stuck on that one!

4. how many more chapters should there be before Harry and Ron get to Hogwarts? it would be mostly fluff, but just a question :)

5. How long do you want the chapters? i know everyone has a different idea, so ill post a poll and you can decide/

_______________________then, to clear up some details of the story...._____________________________  
_

-yes this is going to be a harry/Ginny romance, only not until they are older, of course :)

-no, Harry's identity is known by the weaslettes (weasley children) and he doesn't look like them either. His scar is concealed slightly though by a certain Mrs weasley :)

-there can be some ron/hermione, but personally i dont like them paired... but its not focused on them, no

i think that's it.. but there is always that little box with green writing if you have a question :) or a comment =D

AGAIN, IM SORRY ABOUT THE WAIT!!


	3. Diagon Alley

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, except the plot line:)**

**A/N: Hey guys, this is the third chapter again, but with a few minor changes that won't really be necessary to read back over. Thanks to beta AMT149, the story flows a bit better. :) Once again I am sorry for leaving this story for 2 years, but I am totally back in to it. I've already written half of the next chapter! :) Its exciting!**  
**Just to make a few things clear, yes this is a Harry/Ginny story, but Draco Malfoy will be a huge part in it. No, there is no soul bond or link thing between them, they're just really close, and as for the storyline, parts of the books/movies are shown in here, with alterations due to the alternate universe:) This also means that I will be changing around the plots from each movie. You'll see what I mean when the next few chapters come up!**

**Thanks for reading, and please review! It really helps me write more :)**

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September 1st, 1987

"Come on, dears. Platform 9 ¾ is this way!" Molly and Arthur Weasley hustled their children down King's Cross Station. Molly was holding onto Ginny's hand, who, in turn, held Harry's. Arthur had Ron's hand, who Fred and George were attempting to trip Percy was ahead of Mrs Weasley, eager to get to the platform, and on the Hogwarts Express. Atop his trunk-laden trolley was his newest addition: Scabbers the rat. He had received the rat from his parents for his 11th birthday. Bill and Charlie were tailing Percy, making sure their trolleys didn't veer out of their control in order not to disturb their owls, who had their heads tucked under their wings.

They reached the barrier that lead to Platform 9 ¾, and first through were Bill and Charlie. Percy hesitated for a moment, unease flashing across his face as he looked at his mother.

"Best do a bit of a run if you're nervous, Percy, dear," encouraged Mrs Weasley.

Once Percy had made it through, Mrs Weasley followed with Ginny, Harry, Ron, the twins and Mr Weasley. Even though Harry, Ginny and Ron had been to the station to see off Bill and Charlie, they were still in awe as they came across the Steam Engine. Smoke filled their senses and clouded their vision, causing Mr and Mrs Weasley to make sure to tighten their grip on the younger kids' hands.

The station was crowded, to say the least. There were trunks being stacked on to the train, parent's kissing their children goodbye, students greeting their friends after summer break, and animals screeching over the noise.

Fred and George had ditched Ron and scampered off in to the crowd. They tried getting on to the train, only to be rebounded by what seemed to be an aging spell over the carriage doors.

"And don't forget to write! Make sure you feed that rat, don't let it out of its cage too often!" MrsMrs. Weasley's voice was lecturing Percy through the train window. It was two minutes until the train departed and the whistle had blown. As the engine started up, Bill and Charlie appeared at the window. They waved to the children, and their parents, while snickering at the twins' disappointed faces. Bill called out to them and grinned just as the train began moving, "Two years to go!"

Ginny smiled at Harry, "I can't wait till we're at Hogwarts together." Harry grinned in return.

/*/*/*/\*\*\*\

The next few days were relatively peaceful at the burrow, not including the twins' constant banter. Now that Percy had been whisked off to Hogwarts, there was no constant hum around the Burrow from his usual stream of information. There were still fights between Ron and Fred, jealousy was at its peak again, and Harry and Ginny seemed closer than ever.

It was a Wednesday morning that 7-year-old Harry discovered the _Daily Prophet _and its editorial garbage. Even though Harry's life as a Weasley was kept under hush by Dumbledore, there were now rumours circulating that he was indeed living with the Weasley family; rumours that stated he was seen at King's Cross Station.

Errol flew in the kitchen window approximately seven thirty that morning, Harry and MrsMrs. Weasley being the only ones present; saw the owl drop the paper on the table. Harry grabbed it and pulled off the tie that held it together.

"Mum, what's a… Mystery?" Harry pronounced as he enquired about the title of the front page: '_Ministry of Magic: The Latest Trial'_

MrsMrs. Weasley left the kitchen sink and came to stand behind Harry so as to read the heading.

"Ministry, Harry. And it's the people that make sure everybody does what they're told."

"Oh." A crease formed itself on Harry's brow, a sign that he was deep in thought.

"Then what are they hiding?" He further questioned, trying to understand this piece of paper. MrsMrs. Weasley hesitated answering, only to be saved by Ron stumbling in to the kitchen for breakfast.

"Good morning, dear. Breakfast is on the table, help yourself." Molly ushered her youngest son to the table, where a plate joined them, and his glass filled with orange juice.

"Hey, Ron! Guess what a… ministery is!" Once again, Harry stumbled over the word, but grinned anyway, seemingly forgetting his previous question. Ron didn't know what Harry was talking about and decided to continue shoving food in to his mouth. Harry wasn't deterred by Ron's morning behaviour since he barely spoke before breakfast anyway, so he turned on the next person who came in to the kitchen:; a bleary-eyed Ginny.

"Hey, Gin! Guess what a ministery is!" Harry's excitement obviously wasn't shared by Ginny, who simply replied with a "Morning, Harry" before being ushered to a seat at the table by none other than Molly.

Harry sighed at his lack of responses and turned again to the paper in front of him. Although he had learnt to read a few years ago, he still preferred looking at pictures. And the paper was no exception. On the front page was a picture of the minister pushing through a crowd of people, refusing to answer any questions. As Harry flipped through the pages, he noticed one picture on the corner of the third page. It was of him, holding Ginny's hand, at King's Cross Station.

"Mum, why are we in the paper?" Harry asked, his question stopping MrsMrs. Weasley in her tracks. She hurried over and had a look at where Harry was pointing. And sure as she was, it was the two children at the station just a few weeks ago. But why post it now? She had to talk to Dumbledore, but for now, she had to reassure the children.

"I don't know Harry, how about I take it and have a look? I'll let you know when I find out, okay, dear?" she smiled a reassuring smile, while she took the paper from Harry and folded it away. Harry didn't seem fooled.

"Why are you putting it away?" He pouted, noticing Ginny and Ron's curious looks.

"Yeah mum? Why are you putting it away?" Ron copied Harry, a thing he had taken to recently.

"It's okay, I'm not going to throw it out, I just want to show your father before you start ripping it up again," She gave the children a stern look, remembering back to last week when Arthur went to read the paper and all that was left were a few shreds. None of the children confessed, so they all went without dessert that night.

"Hey mummy, where is daddy now?" Ginny was always eager to greet her father when he returned from the ministry of a morning, but this morning he was running late.

"He'll be home soon dear, why don't you go upstairs and get dressed? Oh and wake up Fred and George, please, we're going out today." Molly smiled at her youngest daughter, not questioning how she was going to wake up the twins. Before she could remove any provocative thoughts from her mind, Harry jumped up and they raced each other up the stairs.

"Betcha they're still asleep," Ginny whispered to Harry. "What do you wanna do?"

Harry put on his thinking face before grinning at her. He raced to the bathroom down the hall and grabbed the bucket they played with when they had to take a bath. Ginny watched him as he filled it with the ice cold tap water and together they carried it back down the hall. As Harry filled Ginny in on the plan, they did not see Fred slip out of his bed and under George's bed.

"AUGHHH!" cried a startled and soaking wet George. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" All the Weasleys' knew that George was not a morning person, and anyone that woke him would be dreading the payback. Ginny and Harry, however, were getting the twins back for their previous prank, where they played the part of the monster under the bed. Not only was Ginny absolutely terrified to sleep in her room for a week, she still had nightmares.

While Harry was laughing on the floor, Ginny felt something grab at her ankles, and screamed. The high pitched squeal forced George out of the bed and grabbing at his ears. Harry stopped laughing and was staring at the scene. Ginny stood there, tears in her eyes, while Fred had her ankles from under the bed.

MrsMrs. Weasley burst in at that moment, "Oh thank Merlin, I thought you were being kidnapped, Ginny! Fred! Let go of your sister this instant!" Fred's hands withdrew from Ginny's ankles and slunk back under the bed, before he emerged from the other side. Both Fred and George were grinning at each other, George still soaked from their wake up call, "Good payback, Forge," nodded George at his twin. "Why thank you, Gred, I did what was necessary to keep you from rolling out of the wrong side of the bed."

"Both of you get dressed and be downstairs in five minutes! Ginny, Harry, Ron, you too," MrsMrs. Weasley bustled out of the twins' room, followed closely by the three youngest.

Ron had chased his mother down to the kitchen, where he was now tugging at her dress. "Mum. Mum. Mum. Mum. Mum!"

"_What_, Ron?" She replied hastily.

"Why are we getting dressed so early?" His big blue eyes looked up at his mother, not used to getting dressed at eight in the morning.

"We're going to Diagon Alley today, dear." She smiled down at her youngest son.

/*/*/*/*\*\*\*\

"Harry! Come on, Harry!" Ginny tugged Harry's hand as he got distracted from the latest quidditch brooms.

"Oh come on Ginny, have a look at them! Aren't they amazing?" Harry looked at his best friend with a knowing look. She really did love the brooms, although she didn't like to admit it.

"Everyone's already heading down for lunch!" Once again she tugged at his hand, Harry reluctantly following her as she started ranting about how they could get lost.

"Mum promised we could go to Fortescue's ice cream before we go home. I want a strawberry one! With nuts on top! What about you Harry, what would you get?" Ginny was getting excited over the fact of getting ice cream, as if she didn't get it every night at home. What she didn't realise was the short boy walking towards them with a blank stare on his face and a blindingly white mop of hair.

Harry had to pull Ginny out of his way, but still didn't avoid the clash between the boy and Ginny.

"Sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going." Ginny got back up on her feet, looking at the other boy.

"I'm Ginny. And this is Harry." She held her hand out to the boy who looked at it timidly before taking it in his hand.

"I'm Draco, nice to meet you." He said softly, his silver eyes roaming over the two who stood in front of him.

"How old are you, Draco?" Harry's curiosity got the better of him.

"I was seven in June. You?" Draco stood proudly, increasing his height by an inch.

"I'm seven too!" Harry smiled at Draco, while Ginny's smile disappeared.

What's wrong, Gin?" Harry asked his best friend.

"Nothing. You two will be at Hogwarts a year before me." She kept pouting, while Harry started laughing.

"Don't worry, Gin. It won't be as fun without you around." He patted her on the shoulder and gave her a supporting smile.

"Would you like to join us for lunch, Draco?" Ginny asked politely, smiling at the boy.

"Um, no thank you. I have to go meet my father. It was nice meeting you, though." Draco gave a few side glances, a quick smile at the two standing in front of him and turned tail, gliding through the bustle of Diagon Alley.

"Wasn't that Draco Malfoy?" Ginny asked Harry as they began walking towards

"_Malfoy_? Hmm... I suppose so. He seemed much nicer than how Dad talks about him. Don't you think?"

"Yeah... he was really nice. He seemed scared though." Ginny stated what she thought of Draco Malfoy. "Do you think he'll still be nice when we get to Hogwarts?" She asked sullenly.

"I hope so, Gin. It'd be nice to make friends before school. That way when I'm there and you aren't, I'll have someone to talk to." Harry looked down at the red-head and smiled.

"Ron will be there with you."

"Yes, but Ron doesn't like me much," Harry rubbed the back of his neck and shuffled his feet. He felt uncomfortable talking about Ron. He thought they'd be friends by now, but he still seemed put-off by Ginny and her 'cooties'.

"Sure he does, he'll come around eventually." Ginny smiled and took Harry's hand. "Now, it's time we get to lunch or Mum will get angry."

/*/*/*/*\*\*\*\

"Oh Ginny! Harry, dear! Thought you'd run off without us. Now come and sit, lunch is coming," said MrsMrs. Weasley, once again hustling her children towards the table. Ginny was sat beside George, while Harry sat between Ron and Fred;, which wasn't always a safe option.

"Hey, Daddy, guess who we met today?" Ginny looked vibrantly at her father before rambling on without letting him guess. "You know the Malfoys? Yeah, well we met Draco! He was really nice. Seemed a bit scared, don't know why. But he's gonna be going to Hogwarts with Harry and Ron! How come you say they're mean?"

"Now listen here, Ginevra. I don't want you meeting up with the boy. He's a Malfoy. And Malfoys have a different regard to the Wizarding World and relations than we do. Not only are they involved with the Dark Arts, but they were a big follower of You-Know-Who.," Mr Mr. Weasley explained to his youngest child.

"But, Daddy –" Ginny started.

"No buts, Ginevra. Young Mr Mr. Malfoy is as bad as his father, and you aren't to befriend him. That's that."

Mr Mr. Weasley had caught the attention of the other children, who seemed intrigued by the conversation. They weren't used to their father getting stern about who they could be friends with.

"Hey Harry, did you tell Draco who you were? The famous Harry Potter!" Fred asked Harry as he jabbed him in the side.

"No. Was I supposed to?" Harry looked at MrsMrs. Weasley, confused.

"No, Harry dear. You don't need to tell everyone. Remember what Professor Dumbledore told you last year? You don't want all that attention do you?" She smiled at young Harry fondly. It wasn't his fault everyone knew who he was before he did himself. Harry looked shocked; his eyes were wide as he remembered what Dumbledore told him. No, he didn't want people from the newspaper following his every step. He didn't want people to be kind to him just because he was famous for something he doesn't even remember.

"No. No, I don't. I'm Harry. Just Harry," He sighed in relief, and turned back to his plate, on which lunch had appeared in the midst of their conversation.

Once they'd polished off their lunch, Ginny began bouncing up and down in her seat, muttering under her breath in a rhythm. 'Ice-cream, Ice-cream, Ice-cream'

"Hey mum, when are we getting ice-cream? You promised!" Ron spoke up, and then pouted at his mother in impatience.

"Just wait your turn, Ickle Ronnikins," George said, patting Ron on the shoulder.

"Only good little boys get ice-cream!" Fred added, patting Ron on the head.

Ron scowled at his twin brothers as Ginny spoke up, "I've been a good little girl! Don't I get ice-cream! I want strawberry, that's the pink one. And I want nuts on top. Just cause they are yummy!" She took a quick breath and ended with, "Can't we go _now_, please?"

"Oh alright," Mrs Weasley gave in to the children. "Harry, finish off your juice and we'll get going." Harry gulped down the last bit of his orange juice and took Ginny's hand as they headed out towards Florean Fortescue's Ice cream Parlour.

While waiting for Mr and Mrs Weasley to follow, the twins, Ron, Harry and Ginny were discussing their flavours.

"I want chocolate one!" Ron stated.

"Chocolate? That's _boring_!" George argued.

"I want a Bertie Bott's one. You'll never know what flavour beans you'll get!" Fred grinned at the thought.

"I want the Fizzing Whizbee flavour," George counteracted his twin. He licked his lips at the thought of the trouble it could cause by the time they were home.

"I wanna try the treacle flavour," Harry said, "Mmmmmm..." he thought about how much he loved treacle tart since Mrs Weasley had let him try it a few months ago.

Ginny insisted on her plain strawberry with the nuts on top, and kept tugging at Harry's hand pulling them ahead. They entered the shop, passing a few families sitting in the booths to get to the counter. By the time Ginny had ordered, Mr and Mrs Weasley had entered the shop, beckoning Harry, Ron and the twins to place their order.

While the children were enjoying their newfound favourite flavoured ice creams (and George was still telling Ron how 'boring' he was) Mr and Mrs Weasley were discussing the paper that Harry had found that morning.

"Do you think Dumbledore knows what he is doing? I thought he said he was keeping it under hush," Mrs Weasley asked worriedly.

"Yes, I believe he knows what he's doing, but he cannot control everything that comes out of _The Daily Prophet_ and that's why people get away with it. Dumbledore is going to have to talk to Harry again before he gets to Hogwarts, or there may be more trouble than just the daily paper." Mr Weasley had the chance to read the article before they left for Diagon Alley that morning, and had thought it through. Surely if Harry had been seen at King's Cross with the Weasley Family, Dumbledore would have kept it out of the paper. _Maybe that was why it came out so late?_He kept asking himself why the article was only now being printed, after all, Hogwarts went back almost three weeks ago.

"I don't understand their need to post it so long after it was taken, I mean, they posted that one from when we took all the children to Diagon Alley for the first time a few weeks later too. And we spoke to Dumbledore about that after that happened, so why again?" She was still fretting over why Harry was getting such publicity. Sure he was famous and everything, but he was only 7 for Merlin's sake!

"Well, we can talk to Dumbledore next time he visits, for now; I think we should get these children home before they cause any more trouble." Mr Weasley glanced at the twins, who had gulped down their ice cream, Fred _showing_ Ron all the different Bertie Botts Beans he had gotten, which were all mushed and horribly coloured, while George was happily levitating up from his seat, with Harry and Ginny in hysterics and trying to hold on to one arm each.

Before they could attract more attention, Mrs Weasley took hold of George's arm and dragged him out of the shop, ushering Harry and Ginny in front of her. Mr Weasley had told Fred not to play with his food, especially in front of his younger brother who had turned a sickly shade of green, and steered them out of the shop and down towards the Leaky Cauldron to floo back home.


	4. The Hogwarts Express

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, but the plot line :)**

**A/N: Hello again! I told you I would update again, and here it is, chapter 4! It was actually a lot of fun to write, I just love the Hogwarts Express! Anyway, this story is dedicated to _PottersLittleSister_ who actually convinced me to update tonight. You should go read her stories, they're pretty awesome, and she's back to updating also!**

**Enjoy this chapter as much as I did, and please please please review, it makes writing the next chapter so much easier :D **

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1st September 1991

Although Professor Dumbledore had visited Harry every year, to explain more and more of the story of his parents, Harry was still curious as to _how_ they were targeted in the first place. _Why not the Weasleys? Why not someone else? _This is what plagued Harry's thoughts for a while, until his thoughts were dragged away from his parents to the fact he was heading off to Hogwarts today. Mind you it was only 5 in the morning as Harry lay awake, too excited to sleep.

While he listened to Ron's snores, he thought back to his eleventh birthday, when he went to retrieve his wand.

**flashback**  
Harry stepped in to Ollivander's wand shop, for what seemed the millionth time. The one difference this time though, was that he was getting a wand instead of one of his adopted brothers. This news made the whole experience completely different. It was as if he could feel the magic radiating off all the wands that covered the rows upon rows in the aisles that reached further than his eyes could see. A shiver ran down his spine as he stepped up to the empty counter and rang the bell. Ginny had followed him in to the shop, Mr and Mrs Weasley just behind her with Ron.

"Ah!" A voice came from the far aisle and made Harry jump. An old man with fuzzy white hair and an odd expression had shown himself, he was still perched on his ladder as he started speaking.

"I wondered when I'd be seeing you, Mr Potter." He gave Harry a knowing look and responded to Harry's bewildered look saying that he remembered when Harry's parents bought their wands. He trekked up the third aisle and started muttering to himself.

Harry gazed at the wands lining the aisles, not seeing any difference in the boxes. Ollivander had returned to the front desk with two long, dusty boxes and placed them on the table. Harry looked at both, waiting for Ollivander to give him one.

"Well, pick one." He stated simply at Harry.

Harry took the box on the left and pulled off the cover, inside was a twelve inch wand, a core of dragon heartstring. Pulling it out of its velvet encasing, he moved it in the opposite direction of everyone, unfortunately it was at the direction of one of the aisles, and before he could do anything to stop it, the rows started spitting out all the boxes on the shelves. Quickly putting it back in the box, he picked up the other wand while Ollivander waved his to put the boxes back on the shelves.

The wand in his hand this time was a ten and a half inch, with a core of willow and holly. As he picked it up, he gave it a wave towards the desk; a bad move, once he saw the damage it had done. Papers had scattered in every direction, any glass that was surrounding the desk had shattered, and the glass of water that was perched on top had shattered and wet everything in its path.

Stepping away from the desk, Harry heard Ollivander start talking to himself again.

"No. no, definitely not" He whispered as he hustled down another isle, stopping a third way up and looking at a particular box. Harry heard him mutter an 'I wonder' before he took the box off the shelf and brought it to the desk for Harry to take hold of.

Harry took hold of the now opened box, and looked at the wand inside. An eleven inch wand sat encased in the velvet sheet, a core of Holly and Phoenix feather. Harry could feel the magic radiating from it, as he reached to remove it from the box. He held it up and waved it in front of the desk, and everything that had smashed, restored itself. Harry knew this was his wand; it connected with his magic even before he had pulled it from the box. The only thing that affected his glorious moment of being accepted in to the wizarding world was Ollivanders comment. "Curious," he stated.

Harry's curiosity won out, and he asked what was so curious, and was responded with "As I said before, Mr Potter, I remember every wand I ever sold. It is curious, that this wand be destined for you, when it's brother gave you that scar."

"You mean, this wand is connected to You-Know-Who's wand?" Harry stared wide-eyed at the strange old man.

"Yes, and no," he started, "The wand chooses the wizard, Mr Potter. The phoenix feather that resides in your wand, gave one other feather. And that happens to be the core of You-Know-Who's wand. It means that we can expect great things from you. After all, He-who-must-not-be-named did great things. They were terrible, yes, but great." He eyed Harry with those knowing eyes again, and Harry internally shivered at what he had said.

**end flashback**

Ron stirred in his bed, and Harry noted that it was already 5.30. His excitement wouldn't let him fall back to sleep, so he got out of bed and went for a shower.

By quarter past 6, he was showered, dressed, packed and repacked, and down in the kitchen ready for breakfast. He heard someone stir upstairs and grinned when Mrs Weasley bustled in to the kitchen to start breakfast for the remaining three children.

"Good morning, Harry" she smiled at Harry as she headed to the fridge to get out the bacon, sausages and eggs. "Excited are you, dear?"

"Yup. I couldn't sleep. And Ron kept snoring." Harry started saying. "Hey mum, what's Ginny gonna do while me and Ron are at Hogwarts?" He looked up at the woman who had raised him with a curious expression. '_Harry and his questions' _thought Mrs Weasley as breakfast started cooking itself .

"We're going to do lots of things until you come home for Christmas, which is only 15 weeks away. In that time, you and Ron need to stay out of trouble. I don't want to hear from Professor McGonagall that you've been following in your brother's footsteps." She steered the question away and back around to school and Harry got distracted again; this time by the plate of food that was put in front of him.

After his first few mouthfuls, he once again asked a question, "Mum, will the food at Hogwarts be as good as this?" Mrs Weasley smiled at the hidden compliment and replied, "Yes, dear. Hogwarts feast are among the best services of food anyone could ever dream of. Even Ron wouldn't be able to finish his food!"

Harry looked at her shocked; as if anyone could make enough food that even _Ron_ couldn't finish it!

"Wow," was all Harry could respond before getting back to his plate of food.

/*/*/*/*/*\*\*\*\*\

Harry passed through the barrier between platforms 9 and 10 with a feeling of unease. Sure he'd been through the barrier several times before, practically every year since he turned 5, but this time he knew that he wouldn't be coming back through the barrier, but boarding the train and heading to Hogwarts himself. The scarlet steam engine that he was so familiar with was stationed in all its glory. Bright red and charcoal black, it had steam billowing around it in anticipation.

Students lined the platform, but Harry now noticed the students that were boarding the train and heaving their trunks in to the carriages rather than the students that were chatting on the platform and saying goodbye to their parents. It was like a totally new experience, and he loved every minute of it.

Harry, Ron and the twins pushed their trolleys up to the baggage compartment and were heaving it on the train when Percy sidled up and leant against the train with a grin on his face.

"What's got you so freely expressing your emotions, Perce?" George mocked his elder brother.

"I bet it's a _lady_," Fred said in the same voice.

"The same who kept him locked in his room all summer?" George grinned at his twin.

"The one and only," Fred grinned right back.

"Her _name _is Penelope. And I doubt you two would understand. I doubt you will _ever_ understand." Percy huffed, "besides, I'm only here to tell you that the train is leaving shortly and Mum and Dad want to say goodbye." He stuck his nose in the air, stuck out his chest to emphasise the shiny "P" badge he got with his Hogwarts letter, and wandered off to find Penelope.

The whistle blew, and the steam engine came to life. Harry and the Weasley's wandered over to where their parents stood and goodbyes were exchanged.

Harry looked over at Ginny, who's eyes were red and puffy but a small smile donned her face. He went over to where she stood, holding on to her mother's hand and he gave her a tight hug.

"I'll be waiting for your owl," Ginny whispered and Harry replied "I'll be waiting for you; even if it is till next year."

He pulled back from their hug and he grinned. "See you in the holidays, Gin!"

Harry raced to the train, that had twice as much steam since he first saw it on arrival, and the engine roared, preparing for the journey. Fred and George had taken off down one direction of the train in search of their friend Lee Jordan, while Ron had headed off towards a seemingly empty carriage further along the path Harry had taken.

Even though Harry and Ron hadn't really gotten along when they were younger, things were picking up a little bit. At least they spoke now, however awkward the situation would get. So Harry followed Ron, passing a few students his height that took notice of his scar. Harry sighed as he remembered he was well-known. He didn't need the attention, so he ducked his head and walked a bit faster.

He found Ron in an empty compartment, holding his rat. Harry didn't understand why he was allowed to take a rat to Hogwarts; after all, their letter specifically stated an owl, cat or a toad. Harry entered the seating area and took the seat opposite of Ron. He didn't really know what to say, so he just started with the obvious.

"So... we're heading to Hogwarts." He slightly smiled at his brother.

"Yeah, I guess we are. What house do you want to be sorted in? I think I'd like anything but Gryffindor. I mean, all the others have been in that house, and I always follow everything they do." Ron looked at Harry.

Harry knew that Ron hated being the youngest boy, besides Harry. He also knew that Ron did want to outshine his brothers during his time at Hogwarts, but from what Harry knew, that either meant being in Gryffindor or Slytherin.

"I wouldn't mind where I get put. I mean, Gryffindor would be cool, and Slytherin sounds awesome. Even Ravenclaw has its perks, but Hufflepuff I'm not so sure. I couldn't really find much history on their strengths; it's almost like they're leftovers." Harry laughed.

Ron scowled before he made his input, "Slytherin? How are they awesome? They're like, all evil and stuff. You know, not a good witch or wizard ever came from Slytherin."

"Well then, maybe I'll change that. And I'll choose Slytherin and become great," Harry laughed again at how absurd he was sounding. Ron had the same thoughts;

"You can't just _choose_. Dad said that a magical object chooses for us."

"Well I'll just ask it to put me in Slytherin. If it's enchanted it won't know what I'm saying." Harry grinned at the challenge. He was going to ask the silly enchanted object to put him in Slytherin, and he was going to become great.

The two sat in silence for a little while, Ron pulled out a book, while Harry had opened his Standard book of Spells. He was interested in the practical side of magic, the doing spells and making things move, rather than the history. He had opened his History of Magic textbook, but put it down after a few pages; it was incredibly boring.

About an hour and a half in to their train ride, a girl with bushy brown hair, dressed in her Hogwarts robes already, rushed in to their compartment.

"Have either of you seen a toad? A boy named Neville lost one." She looked at the two of them, then at the book Harry was holding. "Oh, is that our Standard book of Spells grade 1? I've read that all the way through, I hope I don't forget anything for our first class. Do you think we'll be able to start spell work immediately?"

Harry noted that she spoke a lot, and very fast.

"Yeah, I'm just looking through it; I don't want to be stuck behind everyone else." Harry knew that Ron had hardly looked at his textbooks, let alone opened them.

"I've read through all my books already. Although I don't know what I'm going to do about exams, there is so much to remember. Oh, I almost forgot. My name is Hermione Granger."

Harry looked at Ron, whose eyes were as wide as saucepans at the fact she was already worrying about exams. Term hadn't even started yet!

"I'm Harry Potter. And this is Ron Weasley," Harry smiled at the girl, as her eyes grew wide before she smiled at him. "It's good to meet you at last. I've read so much about you; you're in quite a few historical wizarding books. Well, if you see that toad, come find me, but I need to get going. Oh, and you should probably get changed soon, I think we're almost there.

The sun had drooped low in the sky, casting long shadows over the endless green landscape they were travelling through. It would be dark in about an hour. Harry took Hermione's advice, grabbed his robes, told Ron he was going to change and headed out of the compartment.

As he passed compartment after compartment, he noticed a few glances, as if they were recognising him. He wondered if this is how it would be all year, people gaping at him as if he were a zoo animal; Hogwarts would seem much less appealing. Lost in his musings, he didn't notice the next compartment door open, and a boy stepping out of it. Harry walked straight in to him.

"Watch where you're going!" He scowled at Harry, and before Harry could mutter anything other than a 'sorry', he shut the compartment door and headed off in the direction Harry just came. What got Harry though was the perfectly gelled platinum blonde hair the boy had. Sitting at the back of his mind was a memory of that hair; he just couldn't put his finger on where he had seen it before.

Pushing the thought from his mind, he kept on his way to change in to his robes.

About two hours later, the train had begun to slow down, and Harry took notice of the little town it had pulled in to. He'd heard of it before, a complete Wizard town, Hogsmeade, as he recalled it. Ron had finally changed in to his robes too, and as the train halted at the platform, he shoved his rat in to the robe pocket and the two boys headed out of their compartment. An announcement had been spread through the train to leave their luggage on the train and that it would be taken to their dormitories later that evening.

As they stepped off the Hogwarts Express, Harry heard a deep voice calling out, "Firs' years, over here! Firs' years! C'mon now, follow me!"

Ron cried out when he saw the body to the voice, "wicked"

Harry took in the giant's appearance, he had a beard that covered most of his face, that was all scraggly as if it had never been brushed. He had small brown eyes that seemed friendly enough for Harry to take a liking to him.

Harry tugged at Ron's sleeve to get his attention and they followed the half-giant towards the lake, down past the station.

"No more'n four to a boat!" They heard over the excited murmuring from the first year students as they clambered in to the little paddle boats. It took great strength for Harry to remain silent as he took in his surroundings. All around them was a dead-still sheet of water that reflected the stars and waning moon of the night sky like a mirror. Ahead of their boats was a mountain side, and atop of that was the Hogwarts castle. It stood there, in all its glory, with light coming from each of the little windows, shining over its grounds as if it was protecting it from intruders. The turrets kept guard of the ancient castle, standing high above the rest, intimidating anyone that passed over its grounds. It was magnificent, Harry thought.

The boats pulled in to a little room at the bottom of the mountain, where boats were lined up, all tied to little poles. Around the shed were all sorts of bits and pieces used to keep the boats in shape, and what looked to Harry, some gear to actually merge under that sheet of water they had travelled over. Harry shivered at the thought.

Curiosity getting the better of Harry, he nudged Ron and asked, "Reckon he's a professor?" as he nodded towards the half-giant.

"I remember hearing Fred and George talking about some giant that lived on the grounds of Hogwarts. I wonder what he does if he isn't a professor," Ron mused to himself as they headed up towards the castle behind their guardian.

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**Please Review!**


	5. The Sorting Ceremony

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot :)**

**A/N: So, heres the next chapter! :D YAY! anyway, I hope this goes okay, next few chapters should hopefully move a bit faster, and I am trying to keep up with dates/names and such from Harry Potter Wikia, so I'm sorry if bits and pieces are wrong :) **

The first year students were gathered on a stairwell that led to a huge set of arched doors. An intricate pattern was carved around its edges showing how long the doors had been set in the stone wall. While they could hear nothing from the other side of the doors, Harry had a suspicion that that was where the rest of the school were waiting.

Not a moment later a woman, donned in green billowing robes with a witch's hat atop her neatly pulled back hair, asked for their attention. She lightly cleared her throat before a loud voice filled the area they were occupying.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. The start-of-term feast will begin shortly, but before you take your seats, you will be sorted in to your Houses. While you are here, your houses will be like your family. You will share classes with your fellow housemates, sleep in the same dormitories, and spend time in the House common room.

There are four houses; Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house has their own credited history, and each have produced great witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn you house points, while any rule-breaking will lose you house points. At the end-of-year feast, the house with the most points will win the House Cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours. The Sorting Ceremony will begin shortly. Follow me,"  
Harry thought back to their train ride and how he had accepted the challenge to ask the enchanted object to be in Slytherin. Could it really take in to account his decision? Surely that's not how it would really work?

While Harry pondered his challenge, they were led through the arched doorway, and in front of them were four long tables, each surrounded by older Hogwarts students in their robes. At the end of the four tables on a slightly raised platform above the rest, was the Head table. Harry recognised Professor Dumbledore sitting in the middle. In front of each student, and Professor, Harry noted, were an empty plate, and an empty goblet. The start-of-term feast was yet to begin, as their guide had said. Along the walls were draped cloths that held the Hogwarts Emblem while one larger tapestry hung behind the head table.

They walked down an aisle between two of the tables, and Harry heard a familiar voice talking about the roof above them, "It's not really the night sky; it's just bewitched to look like it. I read about it in _Hogwarts: a History_"

Harry and his fellow first years gathered at the bottom of the platform to the head table. A single stool, with a piece of cloth adorned on top sat intimidating in front of the table, the same teacher that led them in to the hall, Professor McGonagall as he'd heard, now stood beside it with a scroll in her hands. "Now, when I call your name, step forward and I will place the Sorting Hat on your head."

_Of course!_ Harry thought,it was only a _hat _they had to put on. How had he been so blind? What else would have sorted them in to a House worthy of their capabilities, a scarf?

He second guessed his thoughts on the object, not realising that it could talk. He began to worry; if it could hear him, and he had to ask it to place him in Slytherin, would it really? Could he really end up in what the Weasley's had always considered as the worst house? He'd said it himself, it would be awesome to be placed in Slytherin, but had he really meant it? Now that he thought about it, he wondered how different his life would be if he didn't ask the hat. But a challenge is a challenge; Harry put on his calm face and listened to the names being called.  
"Finnigan, Seamus" A dark blonde haired boy walked up to the stool and Professor McGonagall placed the hat on his head. It was almost a whole minute later before it proclaimed, "Gryffindor!"

"Granger, Hermione" The same girl that had talked to him about his school books, the one that knew all about the Great Hall and wanted to help a boy find his toad, looked around before heading towards the stool. Even longer than Seamus, Hermione took about five minutes under the hat; Harry saw her talking to herself for most of it. "Ravenclaw!" Hermione sighed in relief and headed towards the table that was cheering most loudly.

"Goyle, Gregory" The said boy was much bulkier than Harry, with broad shoulders and long arms, his small eyes looked disinterested as he moved up to the Sorting Hat, which announced him as a Slytherin.

Harry kept his ears open to the names being called, "Longbottom, Neville" was next, and Harry let his eyes wander the room. He looked over the Head Table, taking in the details of each of the professors sitting along it. He heard a "Hufflepuff" being called out as his eyes raked over the last professor sitting at the table. A thin man, with a large hooked nose sat with a lop-sided sneer on his face. His eyes were cold and intimidating, while his hair was greasy and framed his face like a curtain. Harry noted that he should keep away from this teacher as much as possible; he just radiated an aura of cold hard hatred.

While Harry was thinking of ways to avoid the teacher on the end of the Head table, he heard "Macmillan, Ernie" be sorted in to Hufflepuff, and when the name "Malfoy, Draco" was called, Harry's head snapped to the thin boy with the white blonde hair he had bumped in to on the train. That nagging feeling of recognition came back to his mind as he tried remembering where he had seen this boy before. Sure he knew the Malfoys. Apparently the father was under the Imperius Curse when You-Know-Who was powerful. While Harry's surrogate parents hated the Malfoys, and Mr Weasley always spoke harshly of Mr Malfoy when he came home from work, Harry was curious of the family. They'd been known to support the Dark Arts, but were they really that bad?

Harry had lost attention to the students being called and missed the next few sortings. It wasn't until his name was called that Harry felt butterflies in his stomach and his skin go cold. He heard a muttered ripple effect weave through the hall, as people recognised the name and stood to look. Harry kept a calm exterior while he headed towards the dreaded Hat, but kept in mind the challenge he had accepted. It was now or never to face one of the biggest decisions of his future. He sat on the stool and the professor placed the enchanted hat on his head. It was too large and fell over his eyes. As he stared at the tethered interior of the hat, he heard a voice. "Hmm. Difficult, very difficult," it mused, as if talking to itself. "Plenty of courage I see, and not a bad mind. But where to put you?"

It was then that Harry began thinking to himself, _put me in Slytherin, I wonder if this thing takes in to account my thoughts?  
_  
"Slytherin, eh? Well you have plenty of talent, there's no doubt about that. And Slytherin will help you on your way to greatness!"

Harry was astonished that it could read his mind. Now he was extremely curious as to whether it would accept his request. But did he really want to be a Slytherin? The hat had said it would help him.

"Perhaps Gryffindor? You have a thirst to prove yourself, quite loyal, but no, you have power and ambition, traits of Slytherin. Hmm, it had better be," Harry braced himself for the house it picked, whichever it was, surely it wouldn't change much anyway?

"Slytherin!" Harry grinned. It _had _taken his thought in to account. That was interesting; he'd be able to tease Ron about it. Now that he was a Slytherin, his life at Hogwarts was about to become extremely interesting. All he'd heard about from the older Weasley boys was Gryffindor this, and Gryffindor that, but never anything good about Slytherin. He was sure he was going to change that.

Harry slipped off the stool and headed towards the far right table. As he passed Ron, he saw the look of horror on his face, and laughed. "I didn't think it'd accept my request. After all it was your challenge" he said to the red-head and grinned again. Harry took a seat opposite the Malfoy boy, he recognised his other housemates as Gregory Goyle, Vincent Crabbe, Theodore Nott, Millicent Bullstrode and Pansy Parkinson.  
While Harry thought about the things he knew about the Slytherin House, he vaguely heard "Thomas, Dean" and "Turpin, Lisa" be sorted. Ron went up next, and Harry noticed his sigh of defeat when he was sorted in to Gryffindor. Harry knew he didn't really want to be sorted in to that house, but it was expected of him. He wondered if Ron would be jealous of Harry's sorting, even though he wasn't a Weasley and wasn't set to be a Gryffindor. Before he could continue his musings of Ron, the last student "Zabini, Blaise" was sorted in to Slytherin, and he sat down beside Harry.

"Hiya, I'm Zabini. Blaise Zabini. Pleasure to meet you, Potter." he held out his hand and Harry shook it, a look of amazement on his face. He didn't think Slytherins were so forthcoming. Blaise laughed at his expression, and told Harry how he'd find quite a few Slytherins to be nicer than expected. "It's to keep up appearances you know, cause Slytherins' are all for appearances. Makes other houses not question anything they do. That's what I've found out already, anyway. I guess it's our turn now to keep it all together."

Harry was going to tell Blaise that he had asked to be placed in Slytherin, but thought against it; it was his own secret. So he opted, instead, for "Do most Slytherins turn to the Dark Side?" Harry's curiosity had gotten the better of him, a personality trait he'd had since he was little. Blaise laughed, once again; "You make it sound so... childlike, Potter. The 'Dark Side', honestly." He shook his head as he chuckled at Harry's question, "Is there even a good side?"

Before Harry could respond to that deep question, food appeared on the tables in front of all the students; seems as though Harry and Blaise had missed the speech Professor Dumbledore had given. Oh well, if it was important, the Slytherin's would tell them, right?

Harry took in the platters of food in front of him. He remembered asking Mrs Weasley how good the feast would be, but never had he thought it would be this _big._There were all sorts of meats; chicken, beef, lamb, pork, sausages, steaks, some unknown to Harry, alongside dishes of mashed potato, roast potatoes, chips, peas, carrots and a whole range of sauces that Harry couldn't name all of. His eyes took in the dishes that he'd be able to reach and opted for the chicken wings and sausages, roasted potatoes, a serving of peas, carrots and a big dash of gravy.

He was full before he'd even finished off what he'd dished himself up, but forgot his full stomach when the main meal was taken away and the desserts appeared on the plates. Once again, Harry's eyes widened in amazement as he took in some of the dishes; treacle tarts, apple pies, doughnuts of all flavours, different coloured jelly, all flavours of ice cream imaginable, strawberries, cream, and chocolate éclairs.

Even though Harry's stomach was full, he always had a second stomach for dessert, as he'd said ever since he was little. So piling more food upon his plate, he gulped it all down before it could disappear.

Once all the food had gone, and stomachs throughout the hall were filled to their capacity, Dumbledore announced it was time for bed. He bade everyone a good night, and asked the prefects to lead their respective houses to the dormitories. Harry looked down his table curiously, trying to find who his prefect was. A voice coming from a tall fifth-grader was telling the first years to follow him out of the Great Hall. Around Harry and the other first year Slytherins, the older students began making their way out of the hall, mostly in pairs or groups.

"Did you know, Potter, that the Slytherin dormitories are in the dungeons?" Blaise gave Harry a sideways glance as they trudged out of the hall after the prefect.

"Really? I always thought Fred and George were joking," Harry trailed off, remembering when the twins had told them how they found the Slytherin common room by accident. Blaise laughed, he seemed to enjoy giving information about the Slytherin House to Harry.

As they headed down countless stairways, and cold corridors, Harry thought about what he would say to Ginny. He'd forgotten their promise to be in the same house, but how did he know the hat would actually listen to him? Perhaps he could tell Ginny to choose Slytherin house too, and they could end up together. He would owl her first thing in the morning.

The prefect they had been following stopped suddenly before another flight of stairs. He turned towards the wall and muttered 'serpent' and to Harry's astonishment, the wall slid open to reveal the Slytherin Common Room.

As the students filed in to the Room, and gathered in the centre, Harry looked around curiously. Rough stone walls surrounded a green carpeted area, with green lit lanterns scattered along the sides. Between each lantern, hung a tapestry, Harry noticed a pattern with them; they depicted great achievements by famous Slytherin witches and wizards. On the far wall, was a window, but instead of looking out over the Hogwarts grounds, Harry was faced with water. Did they really descend that many stairs? So many, that the dungeons were actually located _under water_?

Upon entering the room, to the right was a fireplace, under a magnificent medieval mantelpiece that held a row of large epitomes of Slytherin History. The fireplace itself seemed to emit green tinged flames, while casting shadows along the carpeted floor. Three low-backed lounges were placed around the fire, each with an intricate black wooden design and dark green cushions. Over to the left were two stairwells leading up to the dormitories. Between the staircases was a large bookcase, it too holding a various range of texts.

As Harry was taking in the details of the Common Room, the prefect had begun explaining their room to the first years.

"This is the Slytherin Common Room, where you will spend most of your free time. Keep in mind that many of us study down here, so keep your voices low on school nights. Curfew is 10pm weeknights, 11pm weekends. Any student found wandering the corridors after these times will lose House Points. Note that the left staircase leads up to the boys dormitories, while the girls are up the right set of stairs. Your belongings have already been placed in your rooms."

The six first year Slytherin boys had sorted out their sleeping arrangements in a quick manner. While Draco, Blaise and Harry headed for the end door in the narrow corridor, the other three behind them were curious of the other two doors; one of which became their new dorm.

Harry was amazed by the decor of the room, the green silk hangings surrounded each unique four poster bed, all laden with embroidered silver bedspreads.

"The best part about the dungeons is by far the water outside the windows. I mean, whoever expects to look out a window and see a giant squid float past?" Blaise grinned as he flopped back on to his four-poster, the one right by the window.

"I hate the noise it makes, always distracting" It was the first thing Harry had heard from Draco Malfoy all evening. He tried to suppress his surprise by turning away from the other boys and grabbing his pajamas to go change.

Two hours later, Harry was still lying awake in his bed. He'd been tossing and turning since his first attempt of sleeping, and he knew it wouldn't come any time soon. Classes started tomorrow, and Harry definitely didn't want to sleep in. Despite having lack of sleep, Harry was capable of getting up early of a morning, and as he tossed again, decided to get up and head down to the common room.

He'd grabbed his comforter off the end of his bed, some parchment and a quill, sneaked down the corridor and flight of stairs and curled up in the corner of the lounge. He noted how comfortable it was before placing the paper and quill on the little table in front of him.

The dim light from the fire was enough for Harry to make out what he was writing;

_Dear Gin,_

_So Hogwarts is pretty amazing, Fred and George weren't kidding when they said it would be easy to get lost in. The feast was by far the best thing tonight; there was just so much food! And then there were all the ghosts! They just like to hang around meals, it's almost like they're actually there to eat. _

_I'm sure you're wondering whether I've been sorted in to Gryffindor, right? Well guess again! I am proud to say, I'm a Slytherin! Isn't it interesting! I know we said we'd be in the same house, but I'm sure we can still be friends, even when you become a Gryffindor._

_I met a boy named Blaise tonight, he seemed quite nice, which wasn't what I thought Slytherins were. Apparently they act all high and mighty just to get respect and stop others from talking about them. I probably shouldn't be telling you all their secrets, although you aren't at Hogwarts yet, so it probably doesn't matter._

_Oh, I also have a question for you; does the name Draco Malfoy ring a bell at all? I know the Malfoys are in the pureblood lineage, but I'm sure we've met before. It's just that we're sharing a dorm, and he seems like a git. _

_Anyway, it's getting late and classes start tomorrow. Hope to hear from you soon._

_From your best friend, _

_Harry._

Knowing that he'd written to Ginny his first day at Hogwarts, made him feel more relaxed. But before he could nod off to the comfort of the lounge, and the warmth from the green-tinged fire, he folded the parchment, grabbed his stuff and headed back up to his bed. He fell asleep as his head hit the pillow.

I have my reasons for such house placements! Honestly! So, if some of you haven't been on Pottermore yet, there is something called a Hatstall that you discover, and Hermione and Neville were almost Hatstalls (Hermione being placed in either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw, Neville fighting between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff)

**My conclusion was that they were both placed in Gryffindor to assist Harry on his way through his Hogwarts years, and as Harry is in Slytherin this story, I thought it was appropriate the other students get placed accordingly :)**

So I've had approximately 55 alerts on this story, and I'm hardly getting feedback, it really makes it much easier to write my story with some input from you guys!

If you could answer some questions for me, it would be greatly appreciated!

1) Blaise and Harry will become friends, but like in the cannon (it was Harry, Hermione and Ron), should it be Harry, Blaise and Draco, OR Harry, Blaise, Pansy?

2) Would you like more letters between Harry and Ginny? Or just the letters from Harry to Ginny? (this may affect the length of the story, as I have alot planned for their first year, but I can work some letters in here and there!

3) should there be a big argument between Harry and Ron over christmas break about their sortings? And how Ron is really jealous of Harry?

PLEASE REVIEW! :)


	6. First Day of Class

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and Co. unfortunately... **

**A/N: Hello again! Sorry this chapter took so long, but it's a bit longer than the others. While I was writing it, I managed to add in little bits here and there of stuff I didn't plan to, so hopefully it's okay :)**

**So please review, and let me know what you think!**

* * *

Harry awoke the next morning just in time for breakfast. He recalled yesterday's events and grinned at the fact he was now a Slytherin. He looked to his bedside table and saw the letter to Ginny he wrote before he slept, and decided he would owl it to her after breakfast. His new friend Blaise wandered back in to their dormitory scrubbing his wet hair with his towel, donned in his uniform, with his tie hanging loosely around his neck.

"Look who decided to wake up!" He threw his damp towel at Harry, who managed to mumble a 'shut up' in reply as he reached for his glasses and removed his sheets.

"I'm heading to breakfast, you coming?" Blaise asked Harry, as he finished tying his tie.

"I'm just gonna shower first. Save me some bacon would you?" Blaise nodded and headed out of the room. Harry grabbed his clothes and towel, and headed out of the room to the showers.

He managed to find his way to the Great Hall without getting lost, and even managed to fend off Peeves, although it did delay him an extra four minutes. Taking a seat beside Blaise, and next to a girl he recognised as Pansy Parkinson from the sorting, he grabbed at the few pieces of bacon sitting on the plate. He managed to nick a piece of toast before the tables cleared of all food, and the Headmaster stood to say a few words.

"Good morning! I trust your tummy's are now full of our wonderful breakfast, and I assure you, you won't be hungry until the lunch feast is ready! Now, classes begin today and your Head of House will come around with your timetables. First years, note that you are _not _allowed your own broomstick" He glanced over at the blonde haired Slytherin, and back to the student body, "and that the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds to all students. Thank you,"

From the other side of Pansy, Harry head the mumblings of Draco Malfoy; "Not allowed our own broomstick! Ha. My Father will hear about this!" Blaise nudged Harry's arm, getting his attention and directing it towards the teacher heading towards the Slytherin table. It was the one Harry had deemed necessary to remain as far away from as possible, but now he put two and two together and realised he was the Slytherin Head of House. _'Bugger_' Harry thought.

He started down the far end of the table, the end closest to the Head Table. Thankfully, Blaise had sat about halfway down, and Harry was able to scrutinise the professor before he got to them.

"So, he's our head of house?" Harry asked curiously.

"Yeah. Professor Snape, he was a Slytherin when he was at Hogwarts, and apparently he was a supporter of You-Know-Who" Blaise said solemnly, still looking towards the professor.

"What! Why did Professor Dumbledore let him teach here then!" Harry had a horrified look on his face at the fact the headmaster would allow a Death Eater to teach here.  
"Well, some say he's gone crazy, so I wouldn't put it past him. But then people go on about how he knows things that shouldn't be known. He must have some reason for it." Blaise shrugged his shoulders, not really caring anymore. He finished off his goblet of juice and looked to Harry.

"So what classes are you looking forward to, Potter?"

"Hmm. I think flying lessons would be fun, and maybe transfiguration. What about you?"

"I'm totally excited for potions. Apparently we get to brew all sorts of things, like newt eyes, dragon blood and snake fangs and stuff." Blaise started listing random bits and pieces he'd picked up from textbooks, and Harry seemed intrigued but sceptic.

"Do you really think they'd let us brew that sort of stuff in our first year? Percy goes on about how first year is only the basics, and nothing more, but he's a bit of a spoil sport, so I hope he's wrong. He says it's mostly theory and stuff." Harry sighed.

Professor Snape was getting closer to their seats and Harry stopped listening to Blaise talk about Potions. Didn't the twins say something about potions and its professor?

When the Professor got to Harry and Blaise, he simply said to them, loudly but sternly, so that the other first years would hear,

"This year, you will be taking classes with the Gryffindors. You will be taught in the fields of Potions, Transfiguration, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Astronomy, Charms, Herbology, and Flying. Make sure you arrive _on time_to your classes," He glared at Harry as he said that, and then back to the few students who could hear him. "If you are late, House points will be deducted. Are we clear?" He ended with a finality that didn't intone a question, and so the students just mumbled in agreement before a slip of parchment appeared in front of each of them. It filled up with their classes and once the Professor was gone, Blaise grinned in excitement.

"Yes! Potions first thing!"

Harry groaned. Hopefully he wouldn't be made a fool of in Potions class. He tried to remember things from his textbook that he'd studied to an extent. Particular things he could remember, but what if that wasn't needed in this class?

They had another 45 minutes until class, and Harry still had to race back to his dormitory so that he could grab his books. He said goodbye to Blaise, muttered a sorry to Pansy as he knocked her shoulder while getting up, and headed back to the Slytherin Common Room.

Harry thanked Merlin that the Slytherin Common Room wasn't that far from the Great Hall; it only took him three minutes to get back. He remembered Fred and George talking about how it takes them almost ten minutes just to get back to their dormitories, somewhere up in the high towers.

He rummaged around in his suitcase, before pulling out his Potions textbook, his Defence Against the Dark Arts textbook, two quills and a bottle of ink, some spare parchment, and a few owl treats he'd purchased in Diagon Alley. He double checked he had his wand in his robes, grabbed the bag and the letter he wrote for Ginny, and headed back out of the dorm.

It took him about 15 minutes to find the Owlery; it had its own path out of Hogwarts, but was easy enough to get to. He'd called for his owl, Hedwig, and she came swooping down to where he was standing. She perched on his arm, and he smiled at her, taking her over to one of the closer branches. Before he gave her the letter, he reached in to his pocket and pulled out the owl treats and gave them to her. Gently taking them out of his hand and finishing them, she nipped his finger in a manner of kindness, took the letter out of his other hand and flew off out of the room.

Harry knew Ginny absolutely loved Hedwig, and would be able to spot her a mile away, he grinned at the fact he would get a reply within a few days, and headed back out of the Owlery and rushed towards the castle.

He managed to arrive to the Potions class just in time, the other students were lined up outside the classroom, and he recognised Ron's ginger hair immediately. Before getting a chance to go talk to him, the Slytherin Head of House, Professor Snape came striding out of the room, and held it open, "In," was all he said, and the students filed in to the room.

Seating himself beside Blaise, on the end of the row, he saw Ron take a seat on the far side of the room, two desks from the back. He smiled at him when Ron glanced around the room, but seemed to take no notice of Harry. Harry shrugged it off, thinking he'd talk to him soon, maybe at lunch.

Snape strode in to the classroom, while the door slammed shut behind him. In a soft but completely serious voice, he said "There will be no foolish wand-waving or silly incantations in this class. I don't think many of you will grasp the subtle science and exact art that is potion making with its shimmering liquids and simmering cauldrons, however, I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even put a stopper in death.

Harry had begun copying down some of the things the professor was saying, not wanting to miss out on anything for fear of being left behind. But that seemed to be the wrong decision, because the next thing Harry knew, after finishing his sentence, was that Snape had stopped talking.

"It seems as though some of you don't have any interest in such a class, so much, as not to pay attention." Harry looked up, and Snape was staring straight at him. His face was expressionless but there seemed to be something Harry could sense, hatred, perhaps? But turmoil, also.

"Ah, Mr Potter. Our new celebrity." Harry gulped, as Professor Snape strode over to where he was seated beside Blaise.

"Tell me, Mr Potter, what would you get if you added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Harry cringed as he tried remembering where he had read the powdered root of asphodel, and before he could answer that it made a sleeping potion, Snape answered for him,

"Don't know? Clearly. Let's try again. Where would you look if I asked you to find a bezoar?"

Harry sputtered at the fact he couldn't answer the first one, but managed to spit out 'a goat's stomach' before Snape could torment him longer. He smirked at Harry, before asking one last question.

"What's the difference between Monkshood and Wolfsbane, Potter?"

"Nothing." Harry said without a thought, he remembered reading that clearly while he was at home, because he found the names funny.

"5 points to Slytherin. For your information, Potter, the powdered root of asphodel with an infusion of wormwood makes the Draught of Living Death, the most powerful Sleeping Potion. A bezoar is a _stone_from a goat's stomach, and the Monkshood and Wolfsbane go by the same name of Aconite. Why aren't you all copying this down?"

harry was surprised he'd gotten points for his house, but was more surprised at Professor Snape's reaction, he had pursed his lips together and Harry suspected he was debating whether to take points off. As he strode back to the front of the room, Pansy turned around to look at Harry and said, "Goodwork, Potter."

The rest of the day passed with not much excitement for Harry and Blaise but surely enough, everywhere Harry went, voices followed him, whispering about his scar and how he was a Slytherin now.

The first years were introduced to the amount of homework at Hogwarts, and were amazed at the things they discovered with each class.

For transfiguration, Professor McGonagall seemed to incorporate both theory and practical, where they got to use their wands, even if the majority of them didn't succeed. Harry enjoyed his first lesson because he had successfully transformed his matchstick in to a needle, although a couple others had managed it too.

Charms class was taught by Professor Flitwick who stood just over a metre tall, he awarded Ravenclaw 10 points first lesson because Hermione Granger was able to answer every question he asked.

Harry was astounded when he wandered in to his History of Magic class and discovered a ghost was teaching it. Blaise joked how the Professor suited the class, but that was before both boys nearly fell asleep first lesson.

It was in his Flying class that Harry made his first enemy; Theodore Nott, a fellow first year Slytherin. The students in the class, the Slytherins and Gryffindors, were lined up out in the courtyard while brooms lay in two rows along the ground. The Professor, a witch with dirty blonde hair sticking out all over the place and had yellow eyes, came over to them and told them to line up beside their brooms.

"Now, I want each of you to put your hand over the broom and say 'Up', nice and loud and clear. Go on, give it a go."

Harry gave it a try, and the first time he said it, the broom had shot up in to his hand. Totally surprised, he looked around and noticed no one else had gotten it on their first go.

Once they all had their brooms in hand, the Professor spoke again, "Now, I want you to mount your broom. On the count of three, I want you to push up off the ground, hover for a moment, and then touch back down." They mounted their brooms, and then "One! Two! Three!"

Out of the corner of his eye, a student began rising, but Harry noticed that something was off. Before anyone else could take off, the boy rose in to the air, squeaked and the broom took off. The Professor called out to him, "Mr Longbottom! Come back, here! Touch back down now!" but Neville had flown off, and he was totally out of control. He flew out over the area they were in, closely scraped the castle walls a few times, flew up over the turrets, through the grounds, and back towards the group. Students had to duck and jump out of the way as the broom brought Neville so close to the ground that it snagged and tipped him off. He went airborne and landed near the castle wall in a heap.

The Professor hurried over to him, and helped him stand. He had his wrist clutched in his hand, and a look of pain on his face. She was muttering about a broken wrist and the hospital wing.

"Not one of you will mount a broom until I come back. If you do, you'll be out of here before you can say 'Quidditch'."

She hurried out of the grounds, and the students just kind of stood around, until one boy walked over to something on the ground. Something Neville must have dropped.

"Hey, look what I found! Founder's Keepers. Excellent." He tossed it in to the air a few times and had a smirk across his face.  
"Give it back, Nott. That's Neville's." Harry stood up to him. He never liked when other people took someone else's stuff, he'd been brought up to protect everything that was his, or his family's. And even now that he was at Hogwarts, he wouldn't tolerate having someone else's property being taken by a slimy Slytherin that Harry didn't like.

"Ha. Famous Potter is gonna save the day," he mounted his broom in seconds, and flew low around the group, "Well then, come and get it."

Harry picked up the broom he was using for class, and climbed on to it, before a voice called out "Don't do it Harry, you'll get expelled!" It was Hermione Granger, the Ravenclaw, the one he met on the train. She didn't expect him to just let Nott get away with taking Neville's things, did she? _Well too bad_, Harry thought.

He took off in to the air, up about ten metres and faced Nott who was still tossing the small ball up in the air.

"Brave, aren't you, Potter. Never ridden a broom before?"

"For your information, _Nott_, I have been riding a broom since I was four." He smirked at Nott, and flew at him in an attempt to grab the ball. Nott had a look of surprise on his face, before he quickly dodged Harry's move.

With an expressionless face, he turned back to Harry and said, "I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find. Perhaps on a roof?" He turned towards the castle, and just threw the ball with all his might. It flew through the air, staying up, while getting closer and closer to the walls of the castle.

Harry, bolted past Nott towards the ball, and was close to it, until it started to drop. It got ever closer to the ground, and as Harry dived on his broom, he managed to grab the ball not half a metre off the ground, before pulling back up out of the dive and back towards the group.

While everyone cheered his heroic act, he noticed Blaise's face go deathly pale, and as Harry turned around, he saw the fearful black billowing robes that signified Professor Snape. _Bugger_, Harry thought.

"Potter! Follow me." If looks could kill, Harry probably would have dropped dead right there, which he probably would have preferred rather than follow his Head of House out of the grounds. They headed back in to the castle, Harry almost jogging to keep up with the Professor, down a few corridors, back towards the dungeons, before stopping outside a classroom door.

Snape rapped twice on the door, before it opened to reveal a class of what looked about sixth year Slytherins and Ravenclaws. The Professor had his back to the door, and quickly snapped around when it flew open at Snape's enquiry.  
"Flint. Please" was all Professor Snape stated, before a burly, gorilla-looking male stood up and followed him out the door.

"Potter, this is Flint. Captain of the Slytherin Quidditch Team. Flint, this is Potter. Your new seeker. Teach him the rules, keep it a secret and we better win the Quidditch Cup."

Harry, trying to follow what was being said, looked back and forth between the Professor and the Slytherin Captain. Flint was sizing him up, and Harry felt like a piece of prey.

"A first year! Are you _kidding_, Professor?" Flint growled at the Professor, looking furious.

"You know I don't _kid_, Flint" was the Professor's reply.

Grunting a muffled reply, Flint turned to Harry, "meet me at the Quidditch grounds 7pm tomorrow night." Then to the Professor he asked in a disgruntled voice, "Are we done now?"

"For now." And with that, Flint headed back in to the classroom, while Professor Snape turned and headed off down the corridor. Harry hadn't the faintest what was happening. Quidditch grounds, tonight? At 7? What?

"Get back to class, Potter. And don't make me change my mind about the team." He called out before he turned down another corridor.

Harry fell asleep that night in anticipation of learning more about playing Quidditch. He knew the basics; 7 players per team; two beaters, three chasers, a goal keeper and a seeker. He remembered all the times the twins would verse him and Ron, and how Harry was always able to find the snitch the quickest, while Ron was always able to stop the quaffle going through the hoops. He'd never actually had a chance to play against anyone else, and rarely did they ever play competitively.

The owl post came on time the following morning, and Harry, sitting next to Blaise, asked to borrow his _Daily Prophet_, just like every other day. Reading such nonsense, Harry wondered how people still managed to follow such information. Today's paper was different though, and Harry zoned out of his conversation as he took more notice of the front page.

"SIRIUS BLACK: CASE REOPENED"

_Yesterday evening, a reliable source informed _The Daily Prophet_ that the case involving mass murderer Sirius Black, has been reopened. While keeping inconspicuous, our source was able to release information about the case that will shock the entire wizarding world. It is now known to us that the mass murderer, Sirius Black, may in fact have been wrongly accused. That's right, the Ministry are unsure of who they have convicted, and have been forced to negotiate new evidence that has been brought forward. _  
The article went on a bit longer, about how accusatory the Ministry of Magic could be, and then about the anonymous tipper of the evidence. Harry had finished reading the article, and in his mind was an argument over where he had heard the name Sirius Black before. He remembered Dumbledore talking about him once or twice.

Putting the paper back in front of Blaise hastily, Harry stood up, not sure of what to do but knowing he needed to talk to Professor Dumbledore. He looked towards the Head Table, and saw him sitting in his chair, drinking from his goblet, and chatting with Professor McGonagall. Realising he wouldn't be able to just march up there and demand to know who Sirius Black was, he let out a frustrated sigh and sat back at the table.

"What's a matter, Potter?" Blaise asked him inquisitorially.

Without thinking, Harry thought out loud. "I need to know who Sirius Black is."

"Sirius Black?" Theodore Nott's smooth, yet bored voice spoke up from the other side of the Slytherin table. "He was a big supporter of the Dark Lord, and the one who got your parents killed, Potter. Surely you would know that eh, Potter."

"My parents- what! No! That's not who did it! Shut your mouth, Nott, before I hex you!"

_Sirius Black killed my parents? Why would they reopen such a case! No!_

Before anyone could say anything else, Harry got up and stormed out of the castle, while Blaise glared at Nott, and hurried out after him.

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	7. Getting a Foot In

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry or his wonderful world...**

**A/N: Wow. Where did two years go..? Anyway, for those that managed to keep this story in their 'alert' list, thankyou! If you're still reading, that is! Enjoy :)**

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Pacing in the Slytherin common room, Harry was fuming, whilst Blaise was trying to make some sense of what he was saying.

"Dumbledore will have the answers. He always does, I mean, who is this Sirius Black? Surely if he wasn't the killer then they wouldn't have locked him up in the first place!" Running his hand through his hair, he let out a frustrated sigh.

"_What_ could possibly make them think they have the wrong person?" Harry flopped back on to the closest lounge, and before Blaise could say anything, an owl swooped in to the room and landed at Harry's feet.

Harry let it sit there for a few minutes, until Blaise couldn't help himself.

"Potter, _why_ is there an owl at your feet?"

Harry's reply was mumbled since he moved his hands over his face to hide from reality. "Dunno. Find out?"

"It's a letter that has your name on it. Ow!" Blaise hissed at the bird and withdrew his hand to inspect the bite. "Won't let me get it."

Harry groaned and sat up and reached for the owl, petting it before sliding the letter out from its bindings.

_ Harry,_

_Visit my office at lunch today; it is located first floor beside the Gargoyles near the North Tower. 'Sherbet Lemon'_

_Dumbledore_

Harry sighed once more, noticing that the owl had left the room. "Dumbledore wants to see me again."

"Again?" Blaise frowned.

_Oh yeah, I haven't mentioned that before. "_Yeah, Dumbledore and I meet every now and then. He's..., how should I put this, interested in my life?"

Blaise gave a 'hmph' sound as he flopped on the other lounge.

Not a moment later, another owl swooped in to their common room. This time though, Harry recognised her as Hedwig. Knowing who the letter would be from this time, he sat up, petted the owl and untied the letter from the Owl's leg. Getting a friendly nip in response, Harry muttered to Hedwig that he'd see her later, and as she swooped back out of the room, Harry lent back on the lounge he was currently leaning on, and read Ginny's letter.

_Dear Harry,_

_A Slytherin! I bet Ron isn't talking to you, is he? You know how he hates that house! I think you making Slytherin house is really cool, maybe I can become a Slytherin when I get to Hogwarts next year too, you'll just have to tell me your secret!_

_Draco Malfoy, wasn't he that really blonde haired boy from Diagon Alley a few years ago? He was pretty glad to meet us too, but I remember Dad saying not to associate with Malfoys, apparently they were big supporters of You-Know-Who. Just be careful of who you talk to in that House, Charlie says that most evil pureblood families are sorted in to Slytherin!_

_Anyway Harry, it's not as fun around the Burrow without you here, mum keeps trying to do stuff with me, but it's just so weird! I can't wait for Christmas break! _

_Missing you,_

_Ginny._

Diagon Alley! That was where he remembered that mop of hair from. Boy, has Malfoy changed since then, Harry thought.

Without noticing, Pansy Parkinson had slipped in to the common room and sat on one of the chairs opposite Harry. Harry didn't realise until he'd finished the letter, only to place it down on his lap and see Pansy watching him.

"Hey Potter," she said casually.

"Geez Parkinson, at least let someone know when you're gonna creep in on them!"

"Well, seeing as we are in the Common Room, I'm not really creeping up on anyone. Besides, Z saw me come in." She grinned at Blaise, who had sat up from his sprawled position on the lounge.

"Whatever."

"Look, Potter – Harry, you shouldn't listen to what Theo is saying, he's got his head twisted on backwards and doesn't make sense half the time."

"It's not only his head he's got twisted on backwards," mumbled Harry.

"He'll probably try to rile you up, just because you're Potter," She shrugged, "you know, the Boy-Who-Lived. All I'm saying is, don't let him get to you." Pansy stood up and wandered off in the direction of the girls dorms.

"I think that's the nicest thing Pansy has ever said to anyone!" Blaise commented.

"What do you mean?" Harry looked inquisitorially at Blaise.

"Well, Pansy is a pureblood for starters. They watch out for their own and that's about it. But then again, purebloods always try to take the winning side. Maybe there is something Parkinson sees in you..." He trailed off in thought.

By the time lunch time came around, Harry had a headache. All through his morning classes he couldn't help but mull over the article he had read at breakfast. _At least Dumbledore will be able to answer my questions,_ thought Harry as he made his way to the Gargoyles on the first floor.

When the Gargoyles finally made their appearance, Harry saw the Professor arrive and stop. He jogged the last corridor to the Gargoyles where he heard Dumbledore mutter Sherbet Lemon. Before Harry could ask about the candy, he watched in amazement as the Gargoyle jumped to the left and the wall behind it became a spiral staircase. Stepping on to it, Harry and Dumbledore stood in companionable silence until they reached the office.

"Harry, my dear boy, how was your first day of classes?" The old teacher took his seat behind the wooden desk. Harry pondered the question as he gazed about the room at the gadgets and gizmos surrounding the walls and tabletops. Well, he made an enemy or two, made the Quidditch team, won some house points and can't understand why Ron was avoiding him.

"Good." He surmised

"I can't help but notice you left breakfast early this morning. May I ask why?"

Harry paused for a moment, wondering where to begin. "Sir, who is Sirius Black?" Might as well start somewhere, and where best to start than the one question clouding his thoughts?

"Ah. I should have known you would have seen that paper this morning. After all, when do you not read _The Daily Prophet_?" He chuckled slightly before sighing and placing his hands on the desk in front of him.

"Take a seat, Harry." Harry sat. "What you need to know, my dear boy, is that the article you read this morning is something far beyond what you need to worry about. You see, their '_reliable source_' is merely an illusion of what I think the truth may be. Harry, do you know what a pensieve is?"

"Uh... No, Sir."

"Harry, a pensieve is an object that allows you to see your own memories from a different perspective. When your mind becomes too full and boggled, such as mine from its many years of service, a pensieve allows me to watch what I remember in the hope to catch any minor details that cannot be seen from the eye. Do you understand?"

Harry frowned in concentration, "I think so sir, but what does this have to do with Sirius Black?" he looked up at the headmaster, confusion clouding his features.

"Now, Harry, think back to when we spoke previously, in all those conversations we had, what do you remember about your fathers friends?"

Harry thought back, but couldn't recall much about what had been said about his father's friends. He remembered that he had quite a few friends, but why had Dumbledore not mentioned them before? Vaguely he remembered something about one of them being a prefect, and another one was a mischief maker with his dad, kind of like Fred and George. But no, he couldn't recall anything further.

"Not much, Sir," Harry rubbed the back of his neck in discomfort.

"That's okay, Harry. Do you remember me mentioning your father was a mischief maker?"

"I do, sir. Just like Fred and George are?"

"That's correct. Well, there was one other boy your father was really close with, I believe. They had many detentions for breaking the rules, and I believe your father's friend moved in with your grandparents once in their sixth year."

"Sir—''

"Harry, I'm not telling you this to make you think badly of your father, he was exceptionally talented. Did you know that he was a beater for the Gryffindor Quidditch team? Mind you, he didn't get on the team first year" Dumbledore gave Harry a knowing look.

"My father was a beater?" Harry sounded shocked.

"Yes, he was. Anyway, back on topic, after your parents left school and got married, they anointed your dad's best friend as your godfather."

Harry thought about that for a moment. He had a godfather? Weren't they supposed to look after you once your own parents couldn't anymore? What happened to him?

"Harry, there is something about that night your parents died that I can't put my finger on. You see, your parents used a fidelius charm; a charm that allowed them to go in to hiding from You-Know-Who. What I can't find though, is one piece of the puzzle that would make everything fall in to place."

"What do you mean sir?" Harry was very confused by this stage, he knew his parents had died the night he got his scar, and that it was You-Know-Who that had found them. But what was the fidelius charm for if it couldn't stop him from finding them?

"I want you, Harry, to leave it to me for now. I need more time to work on the puzzle pieces. I don't want to give you the wrong story, so what I want you to do is when you read any articles in _The Daily Prophet_, put it aside, and we can discuss it more when I discover what I need to discover. Understand?"

"Yes, sir; but can't I help with the puzzle?"

"No, Harry. You have more pressing matters at hand; do you not have to be at the Quidditch pitch this evening with one Mr Flint? Just beware, Harry, of those in your House, you never know how Slytherin a Slytherin may be until they want you to know. Now off to class," Dumbledore watched Harry as he vacated his current seat and left the office in thought, no doubt about what he meant about the Slytherins.

xxxxxxxxx

After making his way through a light dinner, and trying to avoid the topic of the looming evening he was to spend with Flint, Harry was collected from the front doors by none other than Quidditch captain Marcus Flint. The teenager, that resembled a gorilla, meandered over to Harry and grunted in a motion to get moving. Harry, not wanting to agitate him more than he already looked, ducked his head and turned around to head towards the Quidditch pitch.

"So, Potter. Played before?"

"Uh, yeah. I've played with my brothers since I was about 4, but nothing competitive."

Flint dropped a chest unceremoniously in front of Harry and clicked open the locks.

"Okay good. That makes my job easier. I take it you know the Quaffle?"

"Yeah, that's the one that looks like a big beach ball" Harry said more to himself than to Flint, but he picked up on it anyway.

"A beach ball?"

"Yeah, it's a muggle ball they take to play with at the beach..." Harry tried explaining.

"Ugh. Muggle things." He shuddered slightly before lifting up one of the latches that was holding a bludger. Harry hadn't actually seen a proper bludger; they'd just used an ordinary ball from their shed. "Here, take this." Harry was handed a bat and before he got his bearings set, Flint had released the holdings on one of the bludgers that was shuddering in the box. It was like it had its own mind, and flew off as quickly as possible. Once it reached an incredible height, it did a 180 and plummeted straight back down to where Harry stood. Swinging like a madman, Harry managed to crack the bludger, which went soaring off in a different direction, and was praised by Flint with a 'you'd make a fair beater'. Once the bludger was back in the box, Harry was handed a tiny golden ball with intricate markings on it.

"This is the Snitch. Catch this, and you win 150 house points, but just remember to keep an ear out for the score, you don't want to catch it and then loose." Harry placed the Snitch in to his palm, and slowly its wings unfurled. Pale as the sun's rays, they shimmered in the moonlight before gathering a speed that could not be kept up with by human eyes. As it lifted out of Harry's hand, Harry watched it in amazement, how could such a tiny ball cause so much damage? He'd read in _Quidditch Through the Ages_ of games where the Seeker had become indisposed more times than not, and he just hoped that he wouldn't be another statistic after his first game.

Once Flint had the snitch back in his grasp, he got Harry to do a few laps of the pitch, just to see how he handled a broom. After about four laps, he them made Harry fly up high, close his eyes and count to ten. Flint would then release the snitch, and Harry would have to find it and catch it, each time he was being timed and was expected to beat it each go. After about an hour, where Harry's hair clung to his face from sweat, Flint bade him hit the showers, and gave him the schedule for their team's training on their way back to the castle. Harry grimaced, he was going to have to train Tuesdays and Thursdays, and somehow manage to fit in his homework and assignments, he sighed, hoping he wouldn't disgrace his fellow team members, or his house for that matter.

Harry had crept quietly back in to the dorm room to grab his pyjamas and towel and went for a shower. As he stood under the steamy hot water, he wondered why Professor Snape had wanted his addition to the team kept quiet.

Xxxxxxxx

Managing to get up in time for breakfast the following morning, he had another quick flip through Blaise's copy of _The Daily Prophet_ and huffed in disappointment; "nothing new, just the same 'ministry has new information regarding the case of Sirius Black', seriously, can't they say _what_ it is they have?" He threw the paper back down on to the table, nearly knocking over his pumpkin juice.

"Potter, you know how the ministry work, they have to run trials and everything, it's surprising enough that the knowledge of the new information has even reached the media, I reckon they've got someone on the inside." Blaise looked up from his toast and raised his eyebrows at Harry as if to challenge what he'd said.

Scooping some lumpy porridge in to his bowl, Harry scowled. "Well let's hope whoever it is doesn't get caught. I remember reading about someone who spoke too loudly about what they found out in the ministry, and one day they just disappeared." Harry dropped a large dollop of honey on to his porridge and began mixing it in.

"People don't just disappear, Potter" Blaise looked at him disbelievingly.

"Well that's what dad told me! And he works for the ministry!"

Xxxxxxxxx

The first few weeks of the term had passed, and Harry had barely had any time to ponder the puzzle of Sirius Black. What with his secret Quidditch practices, those that he had to cover from his housemates by varying excuses each night, and the amount of homework he was getting and the time he had to squeeze in to get it complete. He had found himself in the library more often than not, just in order to get by some of the several feet long essays he had been set, mostly by Professor Snape.

Harry was beginning to worry about all the hard effort he had put in to trying to get Ron to like him, as it seemed he had not want anything to do with Harry ever since being sorted into Slytherin. He had thought Ginny would be right, and that he would come round, but it had been four weeks since their sorting, and Ron still chose to skim right over him as if he didn't exist. He figured that if things weren't sorted out by Christmas, then he would just have to face Ron at home where he couldn't keep avoiding him.

Harry's lessons were getting more interesting; going against what Percy had been saying, it wasn't all theory, and Harry was thankful. He enjoyed the practical part of his classes far more than writing useless garbage over and over again, even if it would help him understand the practical work better.

He had managed to earn quite a few more points in the Potions classroom at the least, although he wasn't sure if it was because he was good at the class or if his Professor just overly abused the point system and his favouritism for his house. Although he did still pick on Harry more often than not, and delighted in giving him a pop quiz whenever he deemed it appropriate.

A bit of a downer though, was the Transfiguration class. Harry had been looking forward to it as much as his flying lessons, and was quite put down by the professor when she seemed to pick on him for answers too. He had tried his hardest to understand the theory behind the transfiguring of objects both inanimate and animate, but he couldn't quite grasp 'the most complex form of magic there is'. That was, until he had run into Hermione Granger again, in the library of course.

She had been working on the same essay that Harry had headed in there to work on, and when he realised that she had taken one of the books that he figured may help him out with the essay, he meandered over to where she sat, surrounded by both text books and multiple rolls of parchment.

"Were you by any chance using the _Beginner's Transfiguration_ textbook?" He asked her softly, so as not to attract the attention of one Ms Pince.

"Oh! Hi Harry. Uh, yeah I think I have finished with it though. I found the most useful thing for our essay was in the second chapter. Here," she handed him the book that she was leaning on to write her essay.

"Oh cool, thanks for your help. Hermione, wasn't it? You were helping Longbottom find his toad on the train?" He asked as he flipped through the book.

"Yes, that's me. Neville got sorted into Hufflepuff though, so I only have a few classes with him. How's the almighty Slytherin house treating you, anyway?" She shuffled some of the rolls of parchment off the table, and gestured for Harry to sit down opposite.

"Well, surprisingly well, I guess. From everything that I had heard about the house, I thought they were going to be downright horrid or something, but, you know, us first years are somewhat friendly towards each other; at least in front of the other houses. It all changes once we're all cooped up in the dormitories though, it's as if they're all trying to win some form of glory or something. It's crazy."

"Sounds, intriguing… I for one have found that all the other Ravenclaws don't study as much as I had first thought. Most of them are Quidditch fanatics, and are training terribly hard for their first match. I had thought after reading _Hogwarts: A History_ that I might actually have found somewhere I could really fit in, but there are only a few others who seem more focused on their school work and the upcoming exams than the first Quidditch match." She put the lid of her ink bottle back on and made sure it was screwed tightly before tossing it in to her shoulder bag, along with her three spare quills that were resting atop some scribbled parchment.

"So I take it you aren't trying out for the team?" Harry smiled jokingly.

"Haha Harry, very funny. You know, it's very rare that a first year even gets on the team. I think I read in _Hogwarts: a History_ that the last first year to make a house team was back before the 1900s."

"Yeah, something along the lines of a century, I read it in _Quidditch Through the Ages_. Anyway, thanks for the book, Hermione. I'll see you round?" Harry stood, putting the Transfiguration book into his bag.

"Uh, sure. We have DADA classes together don't we?"

"Oh yeah, that we do!" Harry gave her a smile and waved goodbye.

Xxxxxxx

Back in the common room that night, Blaise and Pansy cornered Harry and asked him why he wasn't at the Quidditch team tryouts that afternoon but still managed to get his name on the team list that had been posted on the noticeboard an hour ago.

"Well, remember our first flying lesson? And Nott stole Longbottom's remembrall and I chased him to get it back? And then I almost got expelled? Well, instead of getting expelled, I got a week of detention and I was assigned as Seeker for the team…" Harry trailed off not looking them in the eye.

"And _why,_ in the name of Merlin, did you not think it was okay to tell us?" Pansy had her hands on her hips and was frowning at him.

Harry rubbed the back of his neck and avoided her stares, "Professor Snape told me not to tell anyone. And well, I assumed he meant everyone…" He trailed off again.

"And if Professor Snape told you to jump off the Astronomy Tower, would you do that too?" Blaise asked sarcastically.

Harry thought about that for a moment. Of course he wouldn't want to jump, but I mean, it's Professor Snape…

"Well.."

"Why would you even hesitate to answer that?! What are you? Some masochistic moron or something?!" Pansy yelled at him. They got a few looks, and were told to be quiet; Pansy just rolled her eyes, grabbed Harry's arm and moved him over to a more secluded corner of the room.

"Look, I get that he told you not to tell, and I get that you don't want to be on his bad side, but that doesn't mean it excludes us! We're friends, Potter. As much as you don't want to admit it!" Pansy whispered furiously to him.

"Of course I'd admit to that! What do you take me for?" Harry scowled; his friends really thought he wouldn't want to be acquainted with them? He thought they'd been through that before.

"She obviously thinks you're a, what was it Pans? A "masochistic moron?" Blaise grinned.

Harry scowled at Blaise, and Pansy agreed. "That's exactly right. Now next time, don't think that we're included in the 'don't tell anyone' orders, got it Potter?"

"But I—" Harry was cut off by Pansy's glare.

"Okay fine, I'll stop keeping things from you guys. Now can I go to bed?"

Pansy finally let the frown drop and took her hands off her hips. "Sure!" She smiled and skipped back to where Millicent was sitting, sat down beside her and started gossiping about who knows what.

Despite saying he was going to go to bed, Harry quickly grabbed some parchment and a quill, sat down at the little desk that was in their dorm, and wrote a quick letter to Ginny.

_Dear Ginny,_

_How is the Burrow without everyone else around? Quiet, I bet! I thought I'd keep you up to date with the happenings of Slytherin, so here it is. Firstly, I made the Quidditch team as Seeker! Yeah, Snape told me I'm the youngest player in a century, cool huh? Secondly, Ron's still being a prat, but unfortunately I can't do much about that, he refuses to even acknowledge I exist. And lastly, even though I don't talk to Malfoy much, he's not a bad roomie. It could have been worse; I could have been stuck with Theodore Nott. Now there's a Slytherin I'd rather __Nott__ know at all! But I've gotten to know Blaise Zabini and Pansy Parkinson, and as I said in my very first letter, Slytherins really aren't as bad as I first thought!_

_Well, time for bed. See you in a few weeks!_

_Harry._


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